Reply to Who in the school knows which students are on the free lunch program?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Weird how the highest rates of obesity are among those living in poverty, right? The ones getting "food assistance" through WIC, FARMs, and those EBT cards are the ones also suffering from childhood obesity. Also, if the parent is getting food stamps, shouldn't she be expected to use that money to pay for food to pack her children a lunch to bring to school? Wonder what would happen if they did away with free lunches and told parents to put lunch money in their kids accounts using the EBT cards. I bet they'd quickly learn that packing a lunch is cheaper than "buying". FCPS is increasing the cost of school lunch next year due to "rising food, labor, and BENEFIT costs." So now those that have to pay for their children if they want to buy will have to pay $.25 more each day. Is that fair?

[b]I worked at a school cafeteria and the FARMs kids ALWAYS had money to purchase snacks in addition to the free meal that went straight into the trash.[/b] Ice cream, cookies and chips everyday.  Priorities, people.[/quote]

How did you know which kids were on FARMs?

And no, it's actually not "weird" that the highest rates of obesity are among those living in poverty. It's a well-studied phenomenon, with explanations. See here, for example:

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/79/1/6.full

[i]Many health disparities in the United States are linked to inequalities in education and income. This review focuses on the relation between obesity and diet quality, dietary energy density, and energy costs. Evidence is provided to support the following points. First, the highest rates of obesity occur among population groups with the highest poverty rates and the least education. Second, there is an inverse relation between energy density (MJ/kg) and energy cost ($/MJ), such that energy-dense foods composed of refined grains, added sugars, or fats may represent the lowest-cost option to the consumer. Third, the high energy density and palatability of sweets and fats are associated with higher energy intakes, at least in clinical and laboratory studies. Fourth, poverty and food insecurity are associated with lower food expenditures, low fruit and vegetable consumption, and lower-quality diets. A reduction in diet costs in linear programming models leads to high-fat, energy-dense diets that are similar in composition to those consumed by low-income groups. Such diets are more affordable than are prudent diets based on lean meats, fish, fresh vegetables, and fruit. The association between poverty and obesity may be mediated, in part, by the low cost of energy-dense foods and may be reinforced by the high palatability of sugar and fat. This economic framework provides an explanation for the observed links between socioeconomic variables and obesity when taste, dietary energy density, and diet costs are used as intervening variables. More and more Americans are becoming overweight and obese while consuming more added sugars and fats and spending a lower percentage of their disposable income on food. [/i]

[/quote]

The way I knew was that it was a school of around 300. 70% were FARMs, so 7 out of 10. About 7 out of every 10 students bought every day and 3 out of 10 brought lunch from home each day. The ones that packed every day did it because their parents couldn't / wouldn't pay $3 for their kids to buy lunch every day. I felt sorry for those kids that got lunch at school every day because they would complain to me about how nasty the food was. Seeing as how it was such a small school, I got to know these kids pretty well in the two years I worked there. I love kids and I love working with them. I would NEVER blame them or want to see any benefits removed from them, it's the irresponsible parents that piss me off. They are not setting their kids up for success when they fail to set a good example and teach their kids how to make better choices.[/quote]

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